Tag Archives: news

In the latest Miiverse “Pic of the Day”, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai announced the return of All-Star Mode in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS; it seems the All-Star Mode will play out almost like a tribute to the history of Nintendo (and all of the franchises featured in Super Smash Bros.).

Here is what Sakurai had to say:

Pic of the day. This time, you can challenge every fighter in All-Star Mode from the moment you turn on the game!! This is a survival battle with limited recovery items and no option to continue. However, this mode will be incomplete until you’ve unlocked every fighter… Until then, you can only play against characters that are already available. This is a picture of the bottom-screen menu, with a padlock indicating that the mode is still incomplete.

In these battles, multiple opponents appear in one stage, and you clear the battle by defeating a number of them. The rest area that appears between battles displays the next opponents and the year the characters made their first appearances, and it also holds recovery items and an occasional reward. The characters you fight against appear pretty much in chronological order. Behold, the history of Nintendo games!!

There will be custom Home Screen themes available for 3DS, 3DS XL and 2DS owners, each based on popular Nintendo franchises – Classic and Modern-style Super Mario, Animal Crossing: New Leaf and even Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

You can see the assorted themes in the image above, or individually below. Click any of the screens to view the full-size versions:

The interchangeable themes will be distributed via Nintendo eShop, and should be available after a 3DS System Update in October.

No doubt about it, that theme for A Link Between Worlds is calling my name. What do you think? Which custom theme will you use, if any of them?

Confirming part of this week’s rumors / leaked videos featuring new Super Smash Bros. characters, Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles) will be part of the roster of fighters in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U. Screens and a trailer introducing the new character can be found after the break. Continue reading →

Xenoblade Chronicles for the 3DS was confirmed during today’s Japanese Nintendo Direct, but the cult classic Wii RPG won’t be playable on standard 3DS, 3DS XL or 2DS systems – it will be the first New Nintendo 3DS exclusive, only playable thanks to the New 3DS’s improved hardware.

Below is the first trailer of the game running on the New Nintendo 3DS:

Today’s Japanese Nintendo Direct video revealed The New Nintendo 3DS & 3DS LL; the latest model of the 3DS hardware includes features such a second analog stick (the “C-stick”) and two new trigger buttons (shown below).

As you can see in the image above, the “ZR” and “ZL” buttons are situated next to the R & L triggers on the top/back of the system. The face buttons – A, B, X & Y – have been colored like the traditional SNES controller buttons in Japan (shown below).

The new hardware also boasts improved CPU, which will improve general performance and speed as well as the eShop browsing and downloading experience. There’s also a micro SD slot, shown in the image below.

Finally, the New Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL will be Amiibo-friendly, so the new line of Nintendo-branded figures that interact with games will also be a part of the 3DS moving forward.

The New 3DS and 3DS LL have been confirmed for launch on October 10 in Japan; Nintendo said the New 3DS models will not arrive in North America or Europe this year, but I am guessing it won’t be far into 2015 that they launch in other regions.

All I cay say: goodness gracious, I can’t wait to use that C-Stick in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS.

In a recent interview with EDGE, Masahiro Sakurai commented on the wide appeal of the Super Smash Bros. franchise. He also mentioned specific challenges in trying to design the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U with the same level of appeal to all types of players. More after the break. Continue reading →

In the latest Pic of the Day post on Miiverse, Masahiro Sakurai confirmed that Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U players will be able to unlock panels by completing certain feats and conditions in the various Challenge Modes.

Here is the word directly from Sakurai:

Pic of the day. A panel in the Challenges area will unlock everytime you clear a challenge. When you unlock a panel, you’ll see hints for unlocking panels directly adjacent to it on all sides. And this time, each panel will unlock pictures related to the challenge. This is tougher than it looks, you know? The challenges in the 3DS version are a little on the easy side, but the Wii U version challenges might be a bit trickier.

Hmm…just like the difficulty slider, this looks like another feature that was inspired by Kid Icarus: Uprising, which featured three different panels with dozens of unique challenges to complete. Some of them were very broad (finish a certain stage in the game), others were extremely specific (complete a level with a certain weapon and difficulty setting).

I hope this adds even more replay value to the single-player content in the 3DS version; it worries me a little that Sakurai confirms the handheld challenges won’t be as complicated. Why not? We can deal.

In case you haven’t heard about it, one of the hottest upcoming titles on the Nintendo 3DS eShop is Azure Striker Gunvolt, Inti Creates’ flashy, action-packed side-scroller. It certainly helps that one of the game’s lead designers is none other than Kenji Inafune (Mega Man), and the gameplay is clearly reminiscent of the classic series.

Anyway, those who download Azure Striker Gunvolt will also get a free 8-bit crossover game called Mighty Gunvolt, which features characters from both Azure Striker and Inti’s next game, Mighty No. 9.

Keep reading after the break for details, video footage, and an interview between Inafune and Inti Creates.